Sept 24, 2025
 

Summary

David Roberts commenced the US Drone Soccer Town Hall, where Lisa Payne discussed the significant growth of US Drone Soccer and outlined key housekeeping items for participants, including LMS certification and familiarization with the members portal and fly.drones.us. Marty Wetherall presented the new V2 interface of League OS, simplifying rostering and result reporting for coaches. Lisa Payne, David Roberts, and Myron Rumsey detailed the season calendar, event registration, and updates to the US Drone Soccer rule set, respectively, while David Roberts announced the 2026 National Championship, "Battle at the Beach," at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. Laura Turner facilitated a Q&A session addressing LMS certification and upcoming updates.

 

Details

• Meeting Commencement and Attendance David Roberts and Eric Richard welcomed attendees to the US Drone Soccer Town Hall/Season Kickoff, noting approximately 20 participants, including new and returning members. David Roberts announced that the meeting was being recorded and that Magic Gemini was taking notes for those unable to attend.

• US Drone Soccer Mission and Growth Lisa Payne outlined the organization's mission to inspire students through building, programming, and flying drones, emphasizing the importance of leader collaboration. She also highlighted the significant growth of US Drone Soccer, from 220 programs last season to over 300 this year, with an average of 8-10 new teams joining monthly across 11 districts. Lisa Payne noted growth in various states and partnerships with notable institutions such as SpaceX and Baylor University.

• Key Housekeeping Items and Resources Lisa Payne detailed three essential housekeeping items for participants: completing the LMS professional development certification from Drone Sports, signing into the members portal at us.dronesoccer.org, and becoming familiar with fly.drones.us for league operations. She explained that the members portal offers extensive resources, including community engagement opportunities, support materials (coaching best practices, event management tools), league operations instructions (League OS), and lesson plans aligned with national and state standards.

• League OS Platform and New Interface Marty Wetherall presented an overview of League OS, the competition management platform for US Drone Soccer, highlighting its ability to capture lifetime statistics for individual competitors and its use in major drone racing and esports leagues. Marty Wetherall introduced a new V2 interface that separates league sites into individual participant dashboards for management and read-only information hubs, simplifying rostering and result reporting for coaches and enhancing visibility for stakeholders. Marty Wetherall also explained the process for coaches to invite and manage their teams on League OS, including specific steps for those with or without existing accounts, and noted that players will have a dashboard for upcoming events and the option to activate a prospect profile for recruiting.

• Season Calendar and Event Registration Lisa Payne outlined the season calendar, starting with the "friendlies pre-season" for recruitment and planning, followed by the "qualifier season" from January to February, and district championships in March and April. David Roberts explained the process for registering events, such as scrimmages and championships, on us.dronesoccer.org, which triggers their listing on the events page and integration into League OS. Participants in registered competitions will also receive commemorative electronic patches attached to their student profiles.

• US Drone Soccer Rule Set Updates Lisa Payne introduced Myron Rumsey, chair of the rules committee, who discussed recent updates to the US Drone Soccer rule set, based on FAI F9A international rules. Myron Rumsey detailed five key changes: ensuring aircraft LEDs are visible from all sides, reinforcing team composition language, clarifying the offsides rule, addressing battery changes in sudden death scenarios, and adding a new penalty for touching a downed opposing drone. David Roberts emphasized the committee's balanced approach and encouraged participants with strong opinions to join the rules committee.

• 2026 National Championship Announcement David Roberts announced that the US Drone Soccer 2026 National Championship, "Battle at the Beach," will be held at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Florida, featuring the top 24 teams. Lisa Payne highlighted that Embry-Riddle will not only host the championship but also expose students to UAS and full-scale career opportunities, waiving application fees and offering scholarship opportunities based on student performance tracked through League OS. David Roberts stressed the importance of rostering students and using League OS to track performance, as it directly supports these scholarship opportunities.

• Q&A Session and Future Plans Laura Turner facilitated a Q&A session, addressing questions about LMS certification, which is a one-time requirement, with additional certifications available for battery and referee training. David Roberts announced upcoming updates, including an eight-port charger and future League OS certification, and clarified that there are no strict age limits for participants, with a focus on middle and high school students. Laura Turner noted that detailed information, including Marty Wetherall's presentation and a video transcript of the meeting, would be shared via email.